An Uncle's Love
by Raurenkili
Summary: A young Elven girl is trapped in a tree in Doriath with lurking danger below, but who will be there to save her? Short story.


**_An Uncle's Love_**

******_A/N: _**_Finally, I shall succeed at a short story!_

_A young Elven girl is trapped in a tree in Doriath with lurking danger below, who will be there to save her?_

****Far, far away from the parts of Middle-earth that you know so well lies the utter West, and in these lands of The West there is a forest called Doriath, home of King Elu Thingol the Greycloak and his Maia Queen, Melian, who guards all the realm with her magical girdle. It is a shield to all its inhabitants; except for one. In this forest, shivering from fear upon a branch is a small, golden haired Elven child. She is not of Sindarin blood, as are the rest of the people, but she is of the Noldor, the noble race that came out of the mystery and light of Aman. Below the dead tree that she seeks shelter in is a snarling, vicious wolf that has only escaped the eye of the Queen by simply being a normal wolf, and not one of the great Were-wolves of Angband, that would alert the pure hearts of the Elves to its evil presence. The child clings to a branch for dear life, truly enough, crying out as the wolf lunges at the tree, making a horrible gurgling sound while clawing at the bark and shaking the branches, causing dry leaves to fall in the elfling's eyes and confuse her. She gets a firmer grip on the branch, pulling herself up with failing strength and quivering limbs, praying to Eru for courage. She cautiously stands, and begins to tiptoe across the shaking limb as the wolf growls below, when suddenly a crack splits the air of the still forest. The branch! To the horror of the girl, the dead branch begins to split away from the tree, going downwards. The child foolishly looks around to see why, and surely enough, below is the wolf on its hind legs with wicked, yellow stained teeth sunken deep into the branch and ripping it downward in short, jagged tugs. The Elf tries to run, but slips, tottering in her effort to stay on. _Maybe if she could jump to another branch... _Another sickening crack fills the air, she screams, and the branch scrapes down the tree, colliding with other branches, but ultimately plummeting onto the forest floor with a great crash. She gives a muffled cry from under a pile dead leaves and rotten wood where she fell, and the wolf begins digging rapidly, following the sound and scent of the doomed elfling. Suddenly, the girl hears footsteps, heavy but at the same time graceful, as if someone very light was wearing heavy armour, which was not very far from the truth. _A ringing scrape is heard as a large sword is pulled from its sheath, and a great warrior's cry is heard, resounding through the thick trees. The wolf turns, angry at this disturbance from its easy prey, and charges. Seconds later a howl and a whimper is heard, then a heavy thud. _Finrod Felagund drops his sword without even wiping the wolf's blood off on the ground, and hurriedly lifts the entire branch off of the frightened Elf girl. A smile of recognition lighting her face, she bounds to her feet and throws her small arms around the great Elven warrior. "Uncle!" She cries, "I knew you would come!" He laughs deeply and picks her up, swinging her around before wrapping her small body in his arms.

"Well, with all that screaming you put up; how could I not find you?" She giggled, laying her head on his broad chest and listening to his strong heartbeat. He spoke again, this time more softly. "I'm so glad you're safe Falandir, I don't know what I would have done if you had gotten hurt." She raised her head and locked his eyes with her icy blue ones.

"Don't worry Uncle, as long as I have you I'll never get hurt!" She said with the utmost confidence. He laughed again,

"If only that were true, small one." His eyes twinkled gravely, and Falandir looked frightened again.

"Uncle?" She said, stammering, "Please, don't-

"Don't what?"

"Don't ever let me go." She said pleadingly, gripping him tighter.

"Don't worry about that, my little Ellethae, don't worry about that." And he carried her the rest of the way home to Menegroth.

**_The End._**

_**A/N: **__This is my first short story that actually stayed short, and I actually just made it last night, so be the first to comment below on whether I succeeded or not! This story is based on one of Falandir's memories, but if this is your first time in my AU, it kind of corresponds with __The Loss of Felagund._


End file.
